


Voltron, Protecters of New York

by External_yorkie



Series: Voltron, Protecters of New York [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Bad Parenting, Betrayal, Child Abuse, Kidnapping, M/M, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Zarkon isn't over Lotor Dying, coran is Jarvis basically, oh yeah, superhero au, zarkon is a top notch dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-10-29 00:55:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10843122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/External_yorkie/pseuds/External_yorkie
Summary: Keith lived the first half of his life not knowing who his family is. When a man finally comes into his life claiming to be his father, Keith is over joyed. He would do anything to keep his father in his life, even if it meant doing horrible things. But when he meets team Voltron, he starts to doubt what his father has told him. Will he end up doing the right thing, or will he meet the same fate as his older brother?Updates every Saturday and Monday!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm putting my other fic on a short hiatus while I move, I am so sorry! So, to make up for that, I'm posting this fic which is already written! (mostly). This way I won't have to struggle with writing a new chapter each week and it'll give me some time to write more of my first fic! So enjoy!

Keith never knew his family. 

His mother died when he was very young, and his father had been gone for just as long, if not longer.

After his mother died they attempted to contact his extended family, but they quickly found out that his mother had immigrated here from Korea after the death of her family.

Then he was put in the foster care system.

-

After being put in the foster care system Keith was much more closed off. He was only four, but he barely interacted with any of the families he was sent to live with. Occasionally they would attempt to coax the boy out of his room but he never did. 

Eventually, because of his grief, Keith began lighting candles to remember his parents.

It was around this time that he found that fire couldn’t hurt him. 

He had just been leaning too close to one of the candles when his sleeve caught on fire. It took the child a moment to realize this and he started screaming.

But, at that time, his foster family was at church. 

Keith was convinced he was going to be burnt alive with no one there to help him.

It didn’t take him long to realize that it was just his sleeve burning and not his skin. If he looked close enough the pale skin was untouched underneath the roaring flames.

He put the fire out quickly after that realization and he cradled his arm against his chest, his eyes widening.

His family started after that incident how he became more outgoing, and a bit more cheerful. It wasn’t a drastic change, but it was a relief to see the boy of almost five acting like a normal child. 

Until his foster mother found out why he was so happy.

They were horrified and when they realized they couldn’t convince the young boy to stop, they sent him back to the system. They didn’t want a child who would risk their family in such a reckless way.

This, unfortunately, wasn't the last time he would be forced out of a foster home because of his ‘unhealthy fixation with fire’.

In all honesty, Keith was just happy he had some kind of power. He didn't know exactly what it was, unfortunately, he just assumed he was fireproof.

All he had to do know was find a reason as to why he was like this. 

Keith didn't get answers for five more years.

-

He was at school when he finally got answers.

The nine-year-old was doing his favorite activity, which was to sit in a bush until the teachers found him and dragged him back inside, scolding him about how he shouldn't wander off, how strange people might come and attempt to abduct him.

Looking back on it, he supposed they weren't too far off from the truth.

He had been enjoying his solitude when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps.

Keith, assuming it was a teacher, raised his head to tell them he wasn't trying to run away. But instead of being met with the familiar face of a teacher, Keith saw a purple face. 

“Hello, son.”

-

The purple man, who later revealed himself to be Zarkon, said that he was Keith's father. 

Which the boy immediately refused to believe.

“You're purple, I'm not purple!” The boy reasoned, puffing his cheeks out a bit.

Zarkon simply chuckled at that. 

“How about you try and concentrate on me.” He said as he looked at the boy, who frowned a little. 

“On what?”

“Me, try your best to look like me”

Keith had never been good at concentrating. So when he opened his eyes after what he assumed was a full minute of concentrating on looking like the stranger, he was more than surprised to see that his palms had turned a lilac color. 

Zarkon was smiling when Keith looked up at him, although it wasn't a kind smile. It was a cold smile, and the sight of it sent shivers down Keith's spine.

But he ignored the foreboding feeling.

He was a child, a scared and lonely child who only wanted a family. So, against his better judgment, Keith agreed to go with him.

-

Keith's powers, as they turned out, were much different than being able to simply turn purple and not get caught on fire. 

With the help of his father's right hand, Haggar, Keith went under training daily so they could bring his powers out and center. The training was hard and it took up most of his time, time he had assumed he was going to share with his father. But he wanted to make his father happy so he did the training every day until Haggar announced that his powers were fully developed.

Admittedly Zarkon was dissatisfied when he found out that his son hadn't inherited his powers. 

Zarkon had strength, healing, and shapeshifting powers. His son did not. He could make weapons out of energy, he could breathe fire, he could make ‘portals’ out of a fire, which allowed him to move around quickly, and he could control fire. But he didn't have Zarkon's powers. He didn't have Lotor’s powers. He didn't even look like Lotor in his galran form. Lotor had been tall and graceful, with white hair and elf-like ears. Keith had fuzzy ears that reminded Zarkon too much of his old teammate, Keith had shaggy purple hair, and he was a bit chubbier than Lotor had been.

When he first saw Keith's Galra form, Zarkon had seen white. When he was finally able to snap out of his thoughts Keith was a shivering mess, bruises marring the skin of the 12-year-old.

After that Keith started to try and do everything he could to look more like his brother. He had a picture of the man sitting on his nightstand to remind him of who he could be. He couldn't have Lotor’s powers, but he could at least try and look like him.

He went to Haggar and after a lot of begging, he got her to change his Galra form to more match his brothers. While she couldn't exactly shift Keith's features she could make a necklace for Keith. 

At first, he had protested; he didn't need a necklace! But Haggar was quick to explain that the necklace was magical. It shifted light to make his hair appear white and his ears more elf-like. It wasn't a permanent change and it only affected him when he was wearing it, but it was good enough for his father.

-

When Voltron had first gone against Zarkon, the team consisted of Alfor, a woman named Aino, and two twins named Jamba and Mbwana. Zarkon had originally been their fifth member, their black paladin. But that all changed when Zarkon decided that he was entirely sick of being so good. He hated being in the spotlight and having people peering into his life at all moments. He hated the paparazzi, the privacy he had to constantly keep, and he most of all hated the rules.

He hated having to hold back in every fight, how he couldn't kill even those who deserved it. They weren't even paid.

So, when he had finally had enough, Zarkon took his son Lotor, his most trusted ally, and the Haggar down to the slums of the city. Within a day Zarkon had a meeting scheduled with the leader of the criminal underworld, and the day after that he was sitting at the top of the drug and crime world. And he found he couldn't be happier.

But then Voltron came. They tried to reason with the black paladin, they tried to bring their friend back. 

When that failed they fought him. Alfor died, and so did Zarkon’s son. After everything was over they arrested Zarkon and sent him off to a high-security prison, where he couldn't escape. But Haggar had managed to slip away before they could get her into a cell. 

At first, Haggar attempted to free Zarkon, but there was one problem. She had been sent to a different prison than he had, she didn't know where he was.

While she was digging in an attempt to find her lord, she stumbled on some information. 

It was about Sara, a woman who Zarkon had been intimate with.

And it said she had a child.

Eventually, her plan was complete.

She freed Zarkon first and then went back for Sendak.

After Zarkon's two most trusted associates were free he sent them back to regain control of the New York criminal underworld, while he went to go and find this son Haggar had told him about. 

It wasn't hard to bend the boy to their will. Haggar’s has provided Zarkon with a story that was believable, truthful, and yet still left out some of the things he didn't want the boy knowing. The cover story and the fact the boy hadn't even turned ten yet worked in their favor. He quickly believed what Zarkon told him about the paladins of Voltron, about how they had let his mother die, about how they were jealous of Zarkon and that was why they locked Zarkon away. About how they had murdered Keith's older brother, Lotor. 

-

By the time the boy had turned fifteen he already felt a deep hatred for the paladins. Which was just what Zarkon needed.

While the boy grew up, Zarkon taught him more about switching between his galran form and his human form, until the boy could do it without batting an eyelash. Of course, Keith made sure to always wear his necklace so he would look like [Lotor](https://justsheith.tumblr.com/post/160605772637/lotorkeith-from-my-superhero-au-fic-voltron) when he transformed.

While Keith was growing and training, Zarkon did everything to keep him safe. The boys galran form looked so different than his human form, thanks to Haggar and her magic. She had made sure he was a spitting image of his brother. Other than the hair and the ears Keith might have looked just like Lotor. He was around the same height, just a little chubbier though. He had the same red markings under his golden eyes that stretched down to the corners of his mouth. 

He was definitely his son. But he wasn't Lotor, and he would never be Lotor no matter what he did.

So, Zarkon made sure to only interact with Keith when he was in his galran form. When he was a human he was someone else completely, and Zarkon wanted nothing to do with that person.

When he turned seventeen Zarkon bought Keith an apartment. He wanted Keith to watch the paladins for him, but he knew it would be too risky for him to do while he was disguised as Lotor. So he sent Keith to the apartment. He never interacted with Keith unless he was disguised as Lotor, and he otherwise allowed the boy to go on living his life like a normal teen. Keith enrolled in college, got a job as a photographer for a newspaper, he even had ‘friends’ from his college he hung out with. 

As far as the rest of New York was concerned, Keith was just an orphan who was trying to live his life. He was completely normal and had no ties to the criminal Zarkon.

And Zarkon intended to keep it that way.


	2. Ignite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Shiro's past and the moment when the Paladins meet 'Lotor'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Shiro is jumping just think of the Hulk and his mega jumps  
> Or a kangaroo  
> I mean they both work so like

Shiro hadn't been a hero when Zarkon had broken out of prison.

Actually, none of the current paladins had been paladins then. They, like all other children their age who had powers, were in the Garrison training unit.

Going to the Garrison was tough. Kids were constantly competing to see who was the best in the class. Those who could rise to the top and become the next leader of team Voltron.

Voltron was the team of elite superheroes. Voltron was positioned in New York, and only the highest ranking Garrison graduates were allowed to become members of Voltron.

Outside of the Garrison, however, the students weren't allowed to use their powers. They weren't allowed to fight, and they absolutely weren't allowed to try and defeat any villains.

Although, that changed when Zarkon broke out of prison. 

The younger students weren't allowed to be in any battles until they mastered their powers, but with Zarkon, no one wanted to take any chances. So the military, along with the top students from each grade, went to try and retain him.

That was when Shiro lost his arm. He was only eleven, so when he got caught under rubble he panicked and started pulling roughly.

When he was rescued the Garrison had to amputate his arm and replace it with an advanced prosthetic.

He went back to school, but the students were different around him. They were almost afraid of him, mostly because of the ugly scar across his face and the metal prosthetic he had.

But Shiro didn't care, he had a mission now. He wanted to show everyone who whispered about him, everyone who made rumors about him that even with a fake arm he could take down Zarkon.

Soon after Shiro went back to being the top student.

When he graduated, the Garrison revealed the students whom they had picked to become the new paladins of Voltron.

Shiro became one of those graduates.

For a year or so it was only he and Allura, daughter of the previous blue paladin, at the Voltron ‘castle’, a penthouse with a lovely view of the city. 

A year or so later they were joined by three more graduates.

Shiro was the leader now. And he was strangely happy. Zarkon hadn't caused too much trouble since he broke out.

It was ten years since Shiro had lost his arm, ten years since Zarkon had tried anything. So it made sense that he would resurface right on the anniversary of his prison break.

-

Shiro ducked as a piece of rubble flew over his head, both of his hands raised defensively. His right arm was glowing, and when another piece of rubble came towards him he raised it and thrust forward right before the boulder hit him. His hand sliced through it like it was butter and the much smaller pieces fell to the ground.

While the other was working on pulling another chunk out of the ground with his bare hands Shiro dashed forward, grabbing his hands and pulling the man away and pinning him to the ground. Even with his super strength, the man wasn’t able to push the black paladin off. 

It didn’t take long for the police to come and when they did Shiro provided them with the special gauntlet cuffs from his belt. They were specifically designed to apprehend people who had powers since standard police handcuffs didn’t hold most people.

Once he handed the criminal over to the police, Shiro heard a crackling from his helmet.

“Shiro, do you read me, over?” Shiro sighed, a staticky voice coming from the comm in his helmet.

“Coran, you don't need to say copy after everything.”

“Right, of course.” There was a pause. “Copy.” Shiro sighed at the older man, turning away from the criminal when the police arrived. They would be able to take care of it.

“What is it?” Shiro asked as he pushed off the street, soaring up until he was over the tops of the buildings. He landed on one of the rooftops with a grunt, straightening up again so he could look out over the city and listen to what Coran had to say.

“Well, there's a bit of a situation-”

“Coran, for christ's sake!” Another voice over the comm cut the man off, making Shiro chuckle. “What he's trying to say, is that there's a code purple.” Allura continued before Coran could continue rambling.

Shiro felt his stomach twist at that. “Where?”

“He's at the metropolitan opera house, and I would hurry. He has a friend.” She didn't need to tell him twice, he was already jumping off the roof, heading towards the opera house.

-

When Shiro landed he appeared to be the last person there. Lance, Pidge, Hunk and Allura were already crouched behind a taxi that had been shoved onto its side, and they quickly beckoned him over to them.

When he was crouching Allura cleared her throat.

“So far, all we know is that Zarkon came to the opera house around an hour ago. His Galran men are surrounding the place, but we can't see any of his second in commands.” She said and he glanced over the taxi briefly, looking at the two Galran guards who were standing at the door, looking around almost in a bored fashion.

Galran’s, despite what Zarkon claimed, were just humans. Some of them had powers, some didn't. But they were all purple. Haggar’s doing, Shiro supposed, the witch-like woman seemed like someone who would experiment on people.

Zarkon claimed their purple skin was because they were a more advanced race.

“If you can't see Sendak and Haggar, why did you say that he brought a friend?” Shiro asked, peeking around the car as well.

“Well, that's the thing. We don't actually know who he brought with him. He looks Galran, we know that much. But he seems… well, he looks like Lotor.” Allura’s voice dropped as she said the name.

Shiro sighed a bit. “It can't be Lotor, he was blown up eighteen years ago.” He reminded the woman and she sighed. 

“I know, but I just thought it would be a good idea to warn you what we have to face.” She said and Shiro nodded at her, turning to face the paladins. 

“Pidge, you need put up a shield for Lance so he can go and unarmed the guards. We'll stay here until he gives us the signal that the guards are gone. Then I want Hunk and Allura to go in and clear the halls out so Pidge, Lance and I have a clear path to Zarkon.”

Pidge nodded and she raised her hands, causing a slight ripple to appear around Lance. 

The Cuban ducked out from behind the car after Pidge shielded him, one hand stretched out. He snuck closer to the front door and hid behind a pillar, taking a deep breath. 

There was a popping sound and before either of the guards could react two tendrils of water had grabbed onto them, lifting them above the ground. The end of the tendrils wrapped around the guard's mouths to keep them in place and Lance squeezed his fist, grinning impishly when the tendrils froze. Pidge dropped the shield when they were sure the guards had been restrained, and the rest of the paladins made their way from behind the car to the front door. 

-

It didn't take long for Allura and Hunk to make a clear pathway through the halls so the rest of their team could make their way inside to search for Zarkon.

Lance pushed the door of the main performance hall, frowning when the three were met with silence. 

The opera house main stage was enormous, with three levels of seats stretching around the edge of the horseshoe shaped room. The intricate details on the walls were painted a gorgeous gold, and the seats were lined with a lovely red velvet, which matched the curtains.

“Creepy.” He muttered and Shiro grunted in agreement, leading the two further into the room. It was cavernous, with a large stage and rows upon rows of empty seats for patrons. On a different day, Shiro might have thought it amazing. But not when they were searching for a mass murderer. 

A few steps into the auditorium made Shiro realize that this was far too large of a space. He turned back to the other two and he waved them to the upper half of the auditorium so they could cover more ground. Once the two began walking in the opposite direction Shiro turned and he walked carefully down the rows, looking around with narrowed eyes.

He could faintly hear the sounds of his other paladins walking behind him, but he didn’t dare turn his back on the stage. He could feel that he was getting close to something, and he had learned early on that you didn’t turn your back to danger.

It was three rows away from the stage when it happened. There was a sharp cry of surprise behind Shiro, and by the time he turned around he was too late to catch the paladin that had been hurled at him. 

When Lance hit him Shiro stumbled and fell back, skidding a few feet before stopping. There was a much lighter thunk a few feet away from them and when Shiro shoved Lance off he saw Pidge slowly standing. 

Once he managed to get Lance off of himself he pushed himself up and squinted again as he looked at the upper levels, attempting to see who had thrown his paladins at him. 

A large shadow was moving around in the upper levels, but no matter what Shiro did he couldn’t make out the features of the person.

He was still staring up when he heard someone behind him cough pointedly. Against his better judgment, he whipped his head around, his prosthetic beginning to glow lightly. 

Standing on the stage, front and center, was Lotor. 

There was no mistaking that this was definitely Zarkon’s son, Shiro had memorized his face when he had joined Voltron. He had memorized all of the higher ranking galra, actually. 

Behind him, he could hear Pidge and Lance make matching sounds of confusion and he assumed that meant they had seen him as well. 

“You should be dead,” Pidge spoke up after a few minutes had passed when Shiro and Lotor didn’t break eye contact. Or at least Shiro assumed they hadn’t, it was hard to see the other's pupils when they practically blended in with the rest of his eye. 

The man's eyes were glued on Pidge now, and he didn’t seem happy. But he stayed silent, taking two steps forward until he was on the edge of the stage. Once he was there he hopped down, his white braided hair falling elegantly against his back. He reminded Shiro of a Leopard, moving swiftly. But just looking at him you could tell that he could tear you apart with his teeth if he needed to.

It was terrifying. 

Lotor was less than two paces away from Shiro when they all heard his name come from up in the top three levels, which made him freeze. His eyes slowly trailed up (or at least Shiro assumed they did) until they met eyes with who called his name. 

“Father.” He replied cooly. His voice wasn’t what Shiro had expected. It was slightly gravelly but it sounded too young to belong to a man that should be in his late 20’s. 

Shiro chided himself for thinking so much of the voice when Lotor had just confirmed his father was here.

“We are here to make a point, I explicitly told you to not touch them.” He turned his head slowly to see Zarkon standing on the second floor of the seats. His face was contorted into a scowl and he was staring directly past Shiro at his son. 

“I was just looking”

“That does not matter. Now come, I do believe we have made our point quite effectively.” The man waved his hand in a beckoning motion like he was motioning for a dog to heel.

Lotor was glaring as well but he kept his mouth shut as he walked past the three paladins. 

He had gotten to the top of the aisle when there was another loud pop.

The sound made Lotor’s shoulders twitch and he turned, his eyes widening a bit when he saw a tendril of water rushing directly at him. Lance had one arm outstretched and the other bent against his chest as he aimed the water at Lotor, attempting to delay him until Allura and Hunk could get there. 

But it never reached Lotor. 

The man had puffed his cheeks out and blew harshly. A burst of flames intercepted the water and it dissolved into steam within seconds.

It took a few moments for anyone to react. 

“Lotor!” Zarkon was the first to act, jumping off the balcony and landing in a crouch next to his son.

Lotor’s elegant and intimidating facade was gone, replaced by a look of pure panic. But he kept silent, sealing his lips into a tight line. Zarkon’s hand settled on his son’s shoulder and he scowled at the three paladins. “I think that is our cue to go. Until next time, Paladins.” Zarkon ducked his head in a poor imitation of a bow. 

Looking back on it later, Shiro was still a bit shocked they just walked out. Neither of the three paladins in the room had moved to stop the two as they turned to the exit and sauntered out, the three of them too shocked with what had just happened.

They knew everything there was to know about Zarkon, they had to. Allura had made it the Team's goal to take him down, and she had debriefed them all on every known aspect of his life. Including Lotor. And not once had she ever said that Lotor could breathe fire.


	3. Into the mouth of the lion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro goes out on a mission to find Sendak and instead finds Keith, a photographer who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I put a link to the drawing I did of Keith/Lotor's outfit in the first chapter so go back and check that out if you want to see it!

Ch.2

Two weeks passed without any action from Zarkon. Occasionally the paladins got calls from people who thought they had seen a Galra, but whenever they went to investigate it turned out to just be paranoid people who had mistaken a cat or a person for a Galra. 

Eventually, Allura just decided that they would stop answering the calls. “If Zarkon wanted to face us then he could just come to us himself.” She reasoned, and while Shiro didn't like it he had to agree. Zarkon didn't do subtle. 

So they went back to finding and capturing mutants who weren't registered with Arus, and the ones who were causing trouble.

Shiro was getting restless. He had so many questions he needed answers to, and no one in the tower could answer them.

So often times when he was on patrol he went to the places where Galra were commonly seen. He often times found Galran soldiers who were selling drugs or mugging people, but none of them were willing to tell him where he could find Lotor or Zarkon. 

He was starting to think it was hopeless when they got a call about a Galran soldier whose description matched Sendak’s.

Thankfully Shiro was on patrol that night, which meant he might be able to get some answers to his questions. 

It took him less than five minutes to get to the place. 

He landed with a crouch at the entrance of the alleyway where he was reported. Peering inside all he could see were shadows. He took a hesitant step into the alleyway, too focused on finding Sendak that he missed the shorter figure running towards him. 

He saw something red out the corner of his eye and he started turning, but before he could finish he was pinned against the alley wall, a gloved hand covering his mouth.

“Don’t say a word, that… that thing is right around the corner, you were about to walk into him!” A voice hissed, making Shiro’s eyes widen a touch. He recognized that voice, it couldn’t be…

He glanced down at the person who was holding him, feeling slightly disappointed when he realized it was just a human. The kid couldn’t be over 18, with shaggy black hair that fell into his eyes, which were a startling purple. He wasn't Lotor.

The hand that was laying over his mouth slowly pulled back, although the younger man didn't let Shiro off of the wall.

“You called in the attack?” Shiro asked and the man nodded, glancing back at the entrance to the alleyway. 

“I saw him walking down the street, and I was getting some pictures of him when he saw me. I panicked and ran and I called you, but I'm pretty sure he followed me.” Shiro glanced down around the boy's neck, spotting a camera. So he was a photographer then.

“Was he doing anything when you saw him?” The man shook his head. 

Shiro opened his mouth to say something else when the other raised his hand, motioning for him to go silent. Both of their eyes went straight to the entrance, watching as a large shadow appeared in front of the alleyway. 

Shiro moved to push the other further down the alley with his left hand, his right arm beginning to glow. 

“My name's Keith.” Shiro blinked and he glanced back at the person-Keith.

“Is now really the time for introductions?” Shiro hissed.

“It really isn't.” Both heads turned to face the Galra who was standing in the alley entrance now. 

Sendak was standing there, his prosthetic arm making a light buzzing sound. His single red eye was staring at them, casting an ominous red glow on his face. 

“Well, a reporter and a superhero. This couldn't get any more cliched.” Sendak remarked as he took a few steps towards the pair. Shiro backed away at that and he narrowed his eyes, forcing Keith to back away as well.

“Technically I'm not a reporter, I just take photos,” Keith muttered from behind Shiro, wincing a bit when Sendak growled. 

“You're not who I'm speaking to.” Keith opened his mouth to say something, but he decided against it and instead closed his mouth with an audible click. Satisfied, Sendak turned his attention back to Shiro. “I heard you've been looking for my boss.” He said, cocking his head.

Shiro nodded slowly. “I think I speak for the team when I say I'd like to have a word with him.” 

Sendak snorted at that as he took another step forward. His hand was clenching and Shiro barely had time to raise his arm to block the larger man's prosthetic.

Sparks flew out and Keith yelped, his eyes going wide as he stumbled back. 

When Sendak pulled his arm back Shiro took the opportunity to jab his arm forward, aiming for the man's ribcage. Sendak blocked it and he pushed Shiro back a few steps, sparks flying out. 

In the back of alleyway, Keith was scrambling to grab onto his camera, taking a few shaky pictures of the fight.

Shiro ducked, stumbling a few feet back when Sendak jabbed his claws out, feeling them scrape his chin. He was about to right himself when he felt Sendak’s hand grab onto his shoulder, pulling him forward and dragging him across the pavement. 

When Shiro was a few feet away from Sendak there was a violent crack, and then Shiro felt the claws digging into his suit release suddenly. The mechanical hand dropped to the sidewalk next to Shiro and he stumbled up, looking around with wide eyes. Keith was standing between the pair with a PVC pipe in his hands, clenching it so hard his knuckles turned white. He had obviously slashed through the energy that connected the rest of Sendak’s arm to his shoulder, and Shiro was impressed. But he didn’t have enough time to linger on that, because Sendak looked furious, and he was raising his other arm like he was about to strike the photographer.

Dashing forward Shiro grabbed onto Keith’s waist and pulled him close against his side. He ran until he was at the mouth of the alley, crouching and jumping up. He landed on a rooftop a few blocks away from the alley, letting go of Keith once he hit the roof. Which was clearly a mistake, because while Shiro was used to jumping and landing on his feet, Keith clearly wasn’t. The other man stumbled and landed on his side, groaning as he rolled onto his back. 

Shiro glanced at the man briefly to make sure he wasn’t hurt. After looking over him for a little bit he turned his attention back to the edge of the rooftop, looking around to make sure Sendak wasn’t following them. 

Once he was positive they were safe he turned back to look at Keith, finding the man sitting up and looking rather unamused. 

“Is that something you do often?” He asked and he pushed himself up, running his hand over a scrape on his elbow. 

Shiro winced sympathetically and he gave Keith a sheepish look. “Well, generally I don't have people in my arms when I'm jumping,” Shiro said and he glanced over his shoulder briefly to look back at the alley again. 

“I hate to say it but I might have to take you back to Arus until Sendak calms down.” He decided after a moment. They could both hear Sendak yelling in the distance, although it was slightly drowned out by the sounds of the city.

Keith looked at Shiro for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “You're taking me back to your top secret tower without doing any sort of background check?” Shiro raised an eyebrow as Keith scoffed. “No thank you. Just walk me back to my apartment. And as far as I could tell, he seemed to be much angrier at you than he was with me.”

“I think you’re forgetting that he knows where you live,” Shiro said and he glanced around again, reaching over to grab onto Keith’s arm. “I think I hear him getting close. Our security system will do a background check on you when we get there, alright?” Without waiting for a reply from Keith, Shiro tugged the other against his chest once again and jumped.  
-  
Ten minutes later Shiro landed on the top floor balcony. Keith seemed to be expecting the landing because once Shiro put him down from where he was safely seated on Shiro’s thigh (he didn’t want him to try and land on his own, his ankles would break) Keith stumbled but didn’t fall over this time. 

Once he was steady Keith turned to look at Shiro, huffing. “Do you ever ask before doing those things?” He crossed his arms, looking around the balcony briefly. “So… this is Arus?” 

“Indeed it is, and I am Coran!” Keith jumped at that and he spun around, his cheeks puffing up a bit as he looked around for who had yelled that. 

Behind Keith was a rather tall man, with a curly mustache and slicked back orange hair. Keith stared at him for a long moment and then he looked back at Shiro, who was just grinning. “This is Coran, our security system.” He said and he waved his hand at the man.

Keith blinked slowly and he looked back at the man who was still grinning. “Security system?” He asked slowly and he took a step forward, reaching out to poke Coran on the shoulder. When his finger simply passed through Keith jerked his hand back and he blinked again.

“Indeed! I am Coran, an A.I. developed by the current green paladin! I monitor the entire Arus tower, and I keep a keen eye out for any news the team could use!” He puffed his chest out a little bit as he spoke. “Now, come here and allow me to log your information into the system!” He said and he turned to look at Keith. 

The shorter man blinked in surprise and he stared at the hologram. Coran took a step forward and his body passed through Keith's. The latter went completely stiff and he shuddered uncomfortably, furrowing his brows a bit as he turned to look at the hologram. Shiro walked over to Keith and he grinned at the security system. “He just took down some basic information about you, like your height and weight.” He said, smiling over at Keith.

Coran turned back to look at them and he grinned over at Keith. “Now, I just need your name and then you will be able to come inside!” 

Keith shifted at that and he sighed heavily. “Keith Kogane.” 

Coran went stiff, his face going blank for a moment before the grin returned. “Background check complete! You are allowed level two access.” He bowed his head a little at that and he disappeared, reappearing a few feet behind them. “Follow me, I shall show you around and introduce you to the rest of team Voltron!”

Keith hesitated a little bit at that, watching as Coran walked into the building (literally). Shiro gave him a comforting smile, waving for him to follow them inside. He took a deep breath and he stepped inside behind Shiro, wincing as the door closed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy! Also, I made a tumblr for this fic (it's 'justsheith') but my main tumblr is glucose--guardian if anyone wants to chat with me there!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins meet Lotor for the second time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted the drawing I did of Lotor/Keith's outfit on my tumblr ( it's justsheith) and I also put a link to it in this chapter if you want to see it!

Keith knew there were so many things that could go wrong the second he stepped through the glass doors. For all he knew, Coran had figured out that he was Zarkon’s son right when he had decided to step through him and scan him. He was expecting the alarms to go off when he stepped through, or for Shiro to tackle him and just slice him in half with his arm. It was definitely a relief when he didn’t get sliced, and he slowly felt himself relaxing as he was led through the tour. He didn’t pay much attention, mostly focusing in when Coran began explaining the levels of security clearance. He made a mental note of everything.

When he really began to pay attention was when Shiro said he was going to take him to the team. Keith had barely interacted with them (aside from when he almost burnt off Lance’s eyebrows) and he was eager to actually talk to them in person, and not as Lotor. 

He really didn't know what he expected. When Shiro pushed open a door to what Keith assumed was a living room of sorts, he was greeted with the sight of the other four paladins spread out on the couch. Allura was reading a book, mouthing things to herself under her breath occasionally. Lance and Hunk were sprawled out on the other side of the couch, Hunk using Lance’s back as a pillow as they slept. And Pidge was sitting on the coffee table with their legs tucked comfortably underneath them, a laptop lying in their lap. 

When Keith and Shiro came in Pidge looked up curiously and they tilted his head, their gaze lingering on Keith. “Who's this?” They asked after a moment of silence. 

“This is Keith, he's the one who made the call about Sendak.” Keith nodded a little bit when Shiro introduced him. He was a bit amazed at how relaxed the four paladins were, he was never this calm around a stranger. In fact, he was having to focus so he didn't lock his knees on accident and pass out.

Pidge looked between Shiro and Keith for another few moment, eventually shrugging a bit and returning back to their laptop.

Keith was almost convinced that he was in a dream. Everyone was way too relaxed considering they had a Galra in their midst. 

“Are you going to take Keith downstairs or shall I?” Allura piped up from the end of the couch, her book slapping shut. When she put it down Keith could see the title. The Vampire Stalker. So the fearless leader of team Voltron was into vampire romance novels, they seemed to have that in common.

Shiro looked down at himself. “Can you bring him there? I need a shower. And a change of clothes.” He scratched the back of his neck. 

Across the room, on the couch, a head popped up. “I heard shower.” Hunk groaned as his pillow sat up but he didn't bother with waking up, instead deciding to roll over and just use an actual pillow. 

Shiro chuckled lightly as he watched Lance push himself up from the couch, wobbling a bit with the grace of someone who had just woken up from a nap. 

Allura went to go and stand next to Keith, shooing Shiro away. “I think your boyfriend wants to shower with you.” She muttered to the black paladin, who simply flushed darkly and smiled a bit. 

Keith could only stare in mild shock. He knew the black and blue paladin were dating, it wasn't exactly a secret. But he hadn't really expected them to be so open about their relationship, especially in front of a stranger. But he had to remind himself that the paladins were nothing like the Galra. His father's soldiers were all incredibly secretive and they didn't trust people easily. He had to wait almost five months to get Sendak and Haggar's names. So he was used to secrecy.

Shiro went to Lance and he wrapped an arm around the younger man's shoulders, looking back at Keith and giving him a small smile. “Thank you for calling Sendak in today, you really helped.” And with that the couple were gone, walking out the door across the room.

After they had left Allura gave him some food (a packet of ritz crackers) and led him down to the rooms where he would be staying. It had been nicknamed the witness protection floor by Lance because this was where everyone who was being targeted by a villain stayed, but currently, it was just Keith staying there. After she took him to the apartment where he would be living in until they apprehended Sendak she handed him a key card. “Since you have level two access you can only use the elevator to reach this floor and the ground floor. If you try and go to any other floor you'll need someone with access, probably someone on team Voltron. We are a floor above you, and there are offices down below, so you won't be completely alone. Coran is state of the art and he is at every entrance and exit to the building, including windows. So I promise you, you're safe.” Not long after Keith was settled Allura excused herself, walking out of the apartment and going back to the top floor. Leaving Keith alone with a packet of crackers and a head full of questions.

After Keith finished the crackers he moved over to the small couch, taking the chance to look around. It was a pretty small apartment, with a small kitchen to his left and a bedroom along with a small bathroom to his right. It was so much different than the enormous apartment his father had bought for him, but he supposed he shouldn't complain. He was staying here for free after all. 

After a few minutes of just staring at the wall, which was a rather unattractive canary yellow, he felt his phone vibrate. 

From: Sendak  
Your phones tracker says you are in Arus towers, your father wants to know what you have so far on their security.

Keith rolled his eyes a bit and typed out a rather long message about Coran and how he had ‘level two access’, and when he was done he tossed the phone to the side. It had completely slipped his mind it check in with his father when he got into Arus tower, and he was actually somewhat glad he had a reminder. Even if it was from Sendak. 

He spent a few hours just scrolling through click bait articles on his phone. He was considering going to bed when there was a loud blaring sound. Keith jumped in surprise and he dropped his phone, looking around.

A few feet to his left Coran appeared, smiling widely. Which was a little concerning, Keith had never seen anyone smile so much? But then again, Coran wasn't human. “I'm sorry Keith, but that is the signal that someone has spotted Zarkon. There is nothing to be afraid of, it will turn off when the paladins leave.” Right when Coran finished speaking the alarm cut off. They both looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “Well, it appears that the team has left the building. I will be situating myself at all entrances and exits, and I would advise you to not leave the building until they return. The cafeteria on the first floor is serving a delicious potato salad and coleslaw in case you get hungry!” 

Once Coran disappeared Keith went immediately to his phone, seeing a message from Sendak. 

From Sendak;  
We are at the art museum. Zarkon expects Lotor here in five minutes. 

Keith sighed and he glanced around the small apartment briefly. Coran wouldn't notice if he made one of his fire portals and slipped out, right?

There was only one way to find out, really. 

Shoving his room key into his pocket Keith stepped out, making his way to the stairwell down the hallway. He was about two doors down when he heard a mechanical whir, the same sound that had signified Coran’s arrival the first time he met him. 

“Sneaking out?” Coran sounded way too smug to be a program.

Keith turned to face the other and he nervously fiddled with the plastic rectangle in his pocket. “Well, in a way. Allura told me there was a cafeteria downstairs and I was hoping to get some food.” Coran cocked an eyebrow and he briefly looked back at the elevator. “And, uh, I thought some walking would do me good. To clear my head.”

“We’re on the 27th floor, Keith.” Coran was definitely amused now, a smug grin was spreading across his face. 

Keith stumbled for an answer. “Well, uh, I just really like walking. And if I get tired I'll just use the elevator.”

“You don't have access to any-” before Coran could finish that sentence Keith turned on his heel and dashed to the stairwell. “I'll be back!” He called over his shoulder as he tugged the door open, slipping inside. 

Once he was inside Keith turned, half expecting to see Coran in the stairwell. But he was alone, which was a relief. That meant that either Coran trusted him to return or he just couldn't appear in the stairwell, which made sense. Zarkon had told him that Coran worked almost like the internet. There was a hotspot on each floor for him, but it had a limited range. The stairwell must have been out of that range, which was fantastic for him. He glanced at the clock that was hanging on one of the walls and he felt his stomach sink. He had two minutes to get to Zarkon and Sendak. 

Walking over to the railing Keith held his hands out, exhaling. A few feet in front of the railing a three-foot wide oval appeared. It was entirely made out of his fire and it was swirling around a point in the middle, looking almost like a volcano. Wasting no more time Keith hoisted himself up on the railing and pushed himself forward, squeezing his eyes shut as he passed through the portal. Keith shifted into [Lotor](https://justsheith.tumblr.com/post/160605772637/lotorkeith-from-my-superhero-au-fic-voltron) as soon as he jumped and when he landed he felt his braid fall over his shoulder.

Lotor stood and he flipped the braid over his shoulder, looking around. He had landed in front of the art museum. The steps leading up to the gothic building were mostly empty, save for a few policemen. A look around showed that the roads leading up to the museum were roped off, and cop cars were blocking some of the alleys and sidewalks.

As soon as Lotor landed on the steps the cops were turning to face him, their guns already drawn. So his father was inside. The guard that was closest to Lotor took a step forward and raised his gun a little bit higher, jutting his chin out. “Put your hands on your head and get on your knees.”

Lotor scoffed at the man, sauntering over to him and stopping right in front of him. The gun was pressed against his cheek and he was grinning smugly. “And what if I don't? Will you shoot me?” A long purple finger reached up and pushed the gun away until it was pointing at the ground. “I'd love to see you try.” 

The cop was momentarily frozen. Galra eyes did that to people, they were honestly a bit creepy and people just couldn't look away when they were this close. Lotor took advantage of that and he wrapped an arm around the man's shoulders and neck, pinning the taller man against his chest. The gun was out of his hand and Lotor was pressing it against the man's temple. “I wouldn't dare shoot, there's too much of a chance that you'll hit your friend here.” He called out as he started walking up the steps, keeping the cop between him and the others. “I know that the force is practically stretched thin, you wouldn't want to lose another man. It would be too hard to replace him.” Just a few more steps.

There was a gunshot off to his left and Lotor ducked his head, hearing glass shatter behind him. So they were willing to shoot. That was good information.

Lotor shoved the cop down the stairs and he turned on his heel, pushing one of the doors open and dashing inside. He could hear the cops yelling at him but he didn't hear any following him, Voltron had probably warned them to stay outside. 

Now he just needed to find them.

It didn't take long to find them, mostly because his father had stuck to the front of the building. They were past the gift shop and Lotor shot a glance inside as he ran past, spotting puzzles and cheesy books about art. It was cluttered and it would be a good place to hide, so he decided to store that bit of information away. 

When he reached the group he skidded to a stop, looking around with narrowed eyes. His father was standing off to the side with Sendak and Haggar behind him. The five paladins were in front of him. And they were all staring at him. 

Lotor schooled himself and he flipped his braid back over his shoulder again, walking over to his father and crossing his arms. “Now this hardly seems like a fair fight.” He jutted his chin out as he spoke, his eyes narrowed. 

Lance was the first one to break the silence. “Zarkon is twice my size and Haggar has magic. So no shit this isn't a fair fight.”

“If you don't think you're going to win you should just back down. It'd be so much easier for all of us. And I heard the museum is in debt, I would hate to damage things.”

There was a loud cracking noise and Lotor looked over at Hunk, noticing the floor beneath his feet was cracked. 

“Exactly like that, for example.” He sounded smug and he was still staring at the ground, watching as the ground began to basically cave in under his feet.

Zarkon stepped forward and he put a hand on his son's shoulder. “Lotor, don't antagonize them.” He said and Lotor glanced over at the larger Galra. After a moment he nodded slowly and he looked forward at the five paladins, crossing his arms across his chest. 

Zarkon looked back at the five paladins as well, narrowing his eyes when he focused on Shiro. Lance edged a bit closer to Shiro when he saw Zarkon's look. “It's nice to see that you came so quickly. I'm glad we're your top priority. But you might have wanted to prepare a little more before you came.” He said and his hand dropped from his son's shoulder.

Allura stared at him for a moment and then she looked over at Shiro, a doubtful look briefly flashing over her face before she steeled it. 

“Prepare? What does that mean?” She asked carefully.

“Well, my son has basically come back from the dead, and you really think that you can defeat him the same way as you did before?” Zarkon looked down at Lotor briefly. Lotor looked back at his father and he nodded. 

Since the last time they had gone up against the paladins Zarkon had talked to Lotor about his powers. Eventually, he said that maybe it would be best for Lotor to use Keith's powers. It wasn't what he had originally planned to do, and Lotor could tell his father was absolutely against it. But they couldn't just pretend like Lotor hadn't spit fire, it had been caught on camera. So He would just use his powers, leaving the paladins searching for answers. And while they were searching for how Lotor came back and got new powers they would be distracted, and that would allow Zarkon to strike.

Lotor pulled his eyes away from Zarkon and he looked back at the five again. The carpet under his feet began sizzling, and the half-melted fibers sticking to his shoes as he walked forward. 

“That's disgusting,” Lance whispered. 

Lotor's eyes snapped to him first and Lance yelped sharply, jumping back when the carpet in front of him burst into flames. There were a popping sound and a spout of water doused the fire quickly, leaving a burnt spot on the carpet.

Shiro and the others were immediately on alert. Lotor could spot Shiro's arm beginning to glow lilac and he figured they only had a few seconds before he decided to attack.

Lotor took a deep breath and he planted his feet, shooting a plume of fire at the paladins. It was only supposed to be a warning shot, only close enough to singe them. But He must have miscalculated somehow because what actually came out was enormous. 

Shiro must have recognized that as well because he was defensively raising his arm up, using his human arm to push the other paladins back.

When the fire actually hit Shiro's arm, Lotor almost felt like all the air in the room was being sucked out. The fire had disappeared, and it took everyone a moment to realize that Shiro's arm had absorbed it.

"Wha-" Lotor was cut off by a sharp crack, followed by what he could only describe as a shockwave, which sent him back and caused his head to hit rubble, sending his world into momentary blackness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who got their wisdom teeth out :^)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith steals a dead guys arm bones.

Ch. 4

When Lotor opened his eyes his head was ringing, prompting him to squeeze his eyes shut again. While he laid there he tried to figure out just what had caused that shockwave. 

He had heard that Shiro’s arm was an energy source, so it somewhat made sense that it would absorb energy as well. And he remembered hearing from someone that heat was a form of energy. But why had it released it back on them like that? Maybe it was just too much for it to handle? Or maybe Shiro knew what he was doing and had done that as a distraction.

Once his head stopped ringing Lotor pushed himself up, immediately reaching to make sure his necklace was still under his suit. Thankfully enough it hadn’t gotten broken or knocked off during the shockwave, and Lotor could feel the quintessence that fueled it thrumming softly. 

Across the room, he could spot Allura helping Hunk up from where he was sprawled across a broken table. The rest of the paladins were already standing and seemed rather angry. 

Maybe Shiro hadn't meant to do that after all. 

Taking a breath Lotor stepped out of the burnt piece of carpet he had been laying in, one arm folded behind his back. 

“Well, now that was interesting. Do you think we could try that again? I want to see if I can blow your arm clean off your body this time.” His hand was raised up and a small flame was dancing across his fingertips as he spoke, a clear threat. 

Allura took her place next to Shiro again and she puffed her chest out, narrowing her eyes. “We all know you wouldn't be able to pull that off again. Your legs are shaking, that took too much energy out of you.” A quick glance down proved that Allura was right, his leg was shaking. He was surprised he hadn't noticed that before.

Zarkon was the one to speak next. “Lotor, don’t be foolish. We can’t have you using up all of your energy.” His tone was like the one someone would use to scold a puppy. Lotor felt his ears burning and he took a step back.

Sendak and Haggar walked forward while Lotor took his spot next to his father again, his pointed ears folded down in embarrassment. He had gotten carried away, and honestly, he was surprised that Zarkon hadn’t stepped in earlier. 

The two watched as Sendak and Haggar jumped into the fight almost instantly. Haggar was fighting against Allura and Hunk while Sendak was going against Shiro and Pidge. Lance was between the two fights, occasionally ducking to one or the other to land a quick hit before going to the other one. 

Zarkon reached forward and he placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. “No more stalling. We came here for a reason and I’m not leaving until we get it.”

After checking one last time to make sure the paladins were still distracted the father and son pair turned and walked out of the foyer-like room. Keith was following closely behind him, with his hands clenched at his sides. Neither of them noticed the blue paladin following closely behind them.  
-  
They walked through the museum until they got to a section that held many medieval European sculptures. Lotor was looking through them as they walked, attempting To figure out which one they came for. Art was notoriously hard to steal because you couldn’t just sell it off, people would recognize the piece immediately. So he stopped at a few of the pieces that could be dismantled and sold for the gems and precious metals that adorned them. But Zarkon continued walking past those.

After a few minutes of silence, Zarkon stopped. Lotor looked at the piece they had stopped in front of. It was a sculpture of an arm. The hand, which was clearly coming out of a sleeve, was made of solid gold and had the first three fingers of the hand stretched out. 

Lotor stared at it for a moment, wondering why his father wanted this. After a moment he stepped past his father and he placed a hand on the glass case that was covering the hand. His hand heated up and melted through the glass, and he pulled it back so his father could retrieve the object. 

Zarkon had just pulled it back when they heard the clear sound of someone clearing their throat. Lotor turned first, his eyes narrowing when he saw Lance standing there. He had three thick spouts of water behind him, and they were all pointed directly at his father. 

“Put the hand down, jackass.” 

Lotor scowled and he stepped in front of his father defensively, but before he could try and do anything Zarkon’s hand was resting on his shoulder, firmly pulling him back. The hand was pressed into his chest and Lotor knew what he was trying to say. ‘Don’t be stupid, I can handle this. Take this back to my office.’ 

Lotor gripped onto the arm and he had to focus on not letting his annoyance get the better of him because if he did so then his powers would get out of control and he would melt the arm. 

He stepped behind his father and waved his arm to summon the portal. Glancing over his shoulder he saw his father in a fist fight with Lance, who was using water constructs to make gauntlets. His gaze lingered on Lance for a moment too long before he turned and stepped through the portal, continuing to clutch the arm to his chest.

-

Lotor stepped out of the portal onto a small slab of concrete that resided under a bridge. To his left, there was a maintenance doorway set in the side of the hill that the bridge rested on, and to his right was a roaring river.

He turned to the doorway and pushed it open, ignoring the graffiti that was sprayed all over it. Once inside he walked through the halls until he reached a doorway that, unlike the rest of the doorways he had come across, wasn't made out of metal. It was a rich teak, and it had a jagged purple M engraved in the middle of it. 

His father had chosen this place after he had broken off from Voltron because it was the best hidden. The bridge wasn't used that often, so the maintenance tunnels weren't explored by anyone other than dumb teenagers. And anyone who did find the door went ‘missing’.

Lotor grabbed his necklace and he tugged it out of his shirt, pressing it against the engraving on the doorway. Inside the door, he could hear gears turning and then a loud clanking sound. It swung open and Lotor stepped inside, closing it behind him.

The room on the other side of the door was almost comically big. It was basically a warehouse, with floor to ceiling shelves filled with drugs, weapons, and food. Anything a gang would need. There were Galra workers spread out through the warehouse floor, working on either sorting the products, sending them off to be delivered to the nightclubs his father owned across the city, or just chatting with each other. Lotor was ignored as he walked through the warehouse towards the almost penthouse like-suite that was at the back, and he took that chance to grab one of the bottles of whiskey that was resting on the lower shelves. No one cared enough to stop him, so he had developed somewhat of a drinking problem, and he grabbed onto the 

Once he walked through the doors to his fathers ‘office’ (it was more of a safe house that also included an office) Lotor tossed the arm onto a plush armchair he passed by. He unscrewed the bottle and took a swig, grunting. The only reason they had whiskey on the warehouse floor was because it was very high in alcohol content. It was illegal in the U.S. because of too many deaths linked to it and alcohol poisoning. But Zarkon had worked out a deal with the manufacturer so he was the only one selling it in the states.

He pushed open the door to the part of the statehouse that was basically his and he sat down at his desk. His father had rooms set out for his son in all of his safe houses, in case Lotor wanted to stay for a few days. Of course, everything in the rooms was decorated for Lotor's taste and not Keith's. But he didn't complain.

He powered up the computer and immediately went to work researching the arm he had brought back. He needed to find out why his father had stolen it when they had literally walked past a gold Buddha statue.

He searched through the website for the museum until he found a picture of the arm they had stolen. According to the article, it was a Christian arm reliquary. Which was definitely odd. His father was not religious at all, why was he so interested in a religious relic?

After reading some more Lotor pushed back from the desk, glancing back at the arm. In the article, it had said that it contained pieces of the body part it represented. Which meant that some saint’s arm bones were inside that thing. It was used to bless people or heal them. Which still didn’t explain why his father wanted it. They had more than enough quintessence to heal them all. And there was no proof that the relic worked. 

Lotor powered down the computer and he sighed softly, pushing himself out of the desk chair and walking out of his apartment. He should get back to the tower before anyone noticed that he had been in that stairwell for a long time. 

He made sure to leave the relic on his father’s desk and he left the warehouse, taking a deep breath of the air once he was outside. He raised a hand and waved it so a portal appeared in front of him. He crouched and jumped through the portal, shifting before he landed on the stairs. It took Keith a moment to regain his balance once he landed, but once he did he was practically sprinting up the stairs. He burst through the door and he slowed down, fighting to catch his breath. The hallway, thankfully enough, was empty and he was able to get to the room that was set out for him without a problem. 

Keith stripped (leaving his necklace on of course) and he walked over to the small bathroom, turning the shower head on and stepping in without waiting for it to warm up. He had some things to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking a few liberties with the arm reliquary because it was one of the few religious artifacts in the met that supposedly held powers so yeah  
> Also, sorry this chapter was rushed. Posting it from a hotel room! And my finals start next week so I wont post on Monday. But I promise there will be an update on Saturday!


	6. Fire! Fire!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins go to investigate an electrical fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're slowly starting to pick up the pace here as far as the plot is concerned. Also I made the decision to add the future nsfw stuff into a different fic because my friend asked to read this and I don't want to scare him away.
> 
> Also I accidentally copy and pasted the chapter twice so I fixed that.

Lance was getting tired of Lotor. 

It wasn't just him that was fed up with the Galra, whenever Coran alerted them that he had been sighted they all seemed to deflate. Pidge even threw a wrench at Coran once, although it didn't little to actually harm the hologram.

But right now he was more than just annoyed. He was furious. It was supposed to be their day off. He and Shiro had been naked for Christ's sake. But nooo, he had to stop giving what he considered the best blowjob he had ever given so they could go and investigate to make sure the sighting of Lotor was actually real and not someone just being paranoid. The last call they had gotten someone had claimed to see Sendak. But when they got there it was just a dark skinned body builder who was understandably a bit aggravated that the paladins were there to stop him from getting raccoons out of his garbage cans. 

"This is ridiculous, do we need to send the whole team out to look at a sighting of Lotor?" Lance piped up from the door of the armory, watching as Allura struggled to pull open the locker door for her armor. The door had been stuck for as long as Lance had been a paladin, and no matter what Pidge did it never got better. They just assumed the previous red paladin had done something to damage it and that was why Allura could never properly open it. 

The aforementioned paladin looked back at Lance, half of her body shoved in the locker in an attempt to squeeze in and snag the armor. “Lance, you do realize if this wasn’t a false alarm Lotor would easily overpower the few paladins we sent and then he would be free to burn down the city, correct?” Lance pursed his lips and he looked down at the tiled floor, briefly thinking to himself that they needed to redo the floors. He swore he could see an ant crawling over his boot. 

Shiro sighed from his left. “I think what Lance is trying to say is that we shouldn’t leave the tower unguarded.” Lance looked at his boyfriend briefly and he shot him a smile that was returned, albeit strained. Clearly, they were both wanting to go back to the activity they had been doing beforehand. 

Hunk cleared his throat, looking strangely agitated. “The attack is near Shay’s house.” That was all he needed to say. Clearly, he had been waiting for them all to come in so he could tell them that. Allura made a grunting sound and she pulled back, holding onto the helmet. She slid it on over her bun and gave them a slightly nervous smile. “I'm ready to go if you all are.”

-

Shay, unfortunately, didn't live in the best part of town. There was more drugs, violence, and overall nastiness in this part than Lance had ever seen anywhere else, it was almost scary. And under normal circumstances, they would be rushing to pull Shay out of there. But Shay was definitely not normal. She had powers similar to Hunk’s, the ability to move and control the earth. It wasn't as strong as he was, but she was definitely able to defend herself.

With a number of drugs that were being sold and used in Shay’s part of town, it was no surprise that Zarkon would be there. When he had entered the crime scene all those years ago he had introduced a brand new drug to the city of New York, an injection-based drug named Quintessence. It was rumored that if you were one of the few that had been granted the galra form, using Quintessence regularly would literally trap you in your galra, driving you insane. But it was just a rumor. The only known effect it seemed to have on the galra was healing powers. When used on anyone who was a human it was highly addictive, and its effects were similar to the effects of krokodil. If there was someone who was trying to sell bootleg Quintessence, Zarkon would be furious. 

It didn’t take long for the five paladins to touch down on the block that contained Shay’s house, and when they did so the first thing they noticed was how disturbingly quiet it was. Hunk split off from the rest of the group to unlock Shay’s house with his spare key, ducking inside to make sure his girlfriend was alright. Once he was gone Allura looked over at them and motioned for them to go down the left side of the street. Lance and Shiro didn’t need her to say anything else and they were already walking down the street when they saw the smoke. 

Lance looked over at his boyfriend, his hands clenching into nervous fists. Smoke meant fire, which meant lotor was definitely here. This was no longer a false alarm.

It didn’t take long to arrive at the source of the fire, and when they did Lance was already rushing to put some of the fires out. Shiro was darting around, trying to see if he could find anyone that was in the fire. 

Lance was drawing in any nearby water to put out the fire. Or at least, try and put out the fire. It seemed that not matter how much water he used. 

He was so caught up in attempting to put out the fire that he almost didn’t notice Shiro coming up behind him. “I can’t put out the fire!” He said over his shoulder when Shiro came up beside him, his metallic hand covering his mouth so he didn’t breathe in any smoke. Lance was shielding his own mouth with a bubble of sorts, so it took Shiro a moment to decipher the distorted speech. When he did Shiro watched as Lance got a rather thick tendril and tried to bat at the flames with it. But the flames didn’t react to the water at all. Shiro coughed behind his hand and he grabbed onto Lance’s arm. “Well, there’s no one inside so I think we should just leave and try and find Lotor before this place collapses.”

They got out right before the roof of the building caved in. Lance let the bubble drop from his face and he turned to look at the buildings, frowning. Why was no one in the townhomes? Shiro would have mentioned if there were bodies, so Lance doubted that Lotor had killed off the people in those homes. So where were they?

The sound of footsteps made him look away from the burning buildings and he started as Hunk, Shay, Allura, and Pidge came to a stop in front of him. Pidge looked at the burning buildings and they scrunched their nose up. “Smells like an electrical fire.” They said and they turned to look at Hunk. “Doesn’t it smell like an electrical fire?” Hunk rolled his eyes and ignored her, which made Lance laugh a bit. Only Pidge would be able to smell an electrical fire. They had caused enough in the tower to be able to tell if something was an electrical fire or not. 

“If it’s an electrical fire we should call the fire department since none of us can really put it out,” Allura spoke up and Shiro nodded.

Shay made a sound and she waved her hand, getting Allura’s attention. 

“If it was an electrical fire, then who caused it? Shouldn't someone have been in the house when it started?” Pidge blinked and she looked at Shay, nodding.

“She's absolutely right, normally when an electrical fire starts its because an appliance was left on. And normally people are, you know, around to turn appliances on.” Pidge said, looking at Allura. “If this wasn't an accident, and if that anonymous tip was right, then maybe Zarkon’s men were here.” 

Allura stared at her for a moment and then she looked at the building. “Someone call the fire department, we have some digging to do.” She muttered. 

-

They had just got off the phone with the firefighters when they heard someone call Shay’s name. Shay was, of course, the first to look up. “Keith!” She cried out with a grin, making Shiro looked up with a small frown. Shay pushed away from Hunk’s side to dash across the street, pulling a somewhat familiar looking man into a hug. 

Lance looked at Shiro, noticing his frown, and nudged him with his elbow. “What crawled up your ass?” He muttered under his breath, watching as Shay pulled back and greeted her friend before escorting him across the block to them.

“I'll tell you later,” Shiro replied in a whisper as Shay stopped in front of the group.

Lance sighed at that and he turned his attention back to her. He wanted more information, he wanted to figure out what was making Shiro so thoughtful. But he knew better than to push something, Shiro would tell him eventually.

“This is Keith, he's a friend of mine from college,” Shay said when she stopped in front of them, a hand clasped on Keith's shoulder. 

Hunk smiled and he walked over to him, shaking his hand. “Shay mentioned you before, I guess I never really connected the dots when you came over before.” He said, making Lance frown. Had this guy come over? Was he missing something?

Pidge was the first one to notice his confusion. “Lance, he's the guy Shiro rescued from Sendak a few weeks ago, remember?” They muttered under their breath. Lance blinked slowly, still watching as Shay, Hunk, and Keith talked amicably. 

“I think I barely remember him.” He finally said when Keith turned his attention to the other five.

“I'm so glad I found you, I was coming here to check up on Shay when I saw the Galra poking around that house. I called in the tip but when I got to Shay’s house I couldn't find her, I was so worried something had happened to her.” Keith said with a somewhat sheepish look. Lance stared at him and he glanced to the side at Shiro. “So… fancy running into you all again.”

Lance’s frown deepened a bit. “Yes, fancy meeting you. Twice, and both times involving the Galra.” He said and he watched as Keith narrowed his eyes. 

“It's a coincidence, I didn't ask for that purple weirdo to stalk me.” He snapped and he crossed his arms, taking a deep breath when Shay put her hand on his shoulder. “Listen, I just really came to see if Shay was alright. I'll be on my-”

“Absolutely not,” Shay said and she raised a hand, cutting Keith off before he could finish. Keith blinked and he stared at her for a moment. “You're my classmate and friend, leaving you here would just put you in more danger.” Keith opened his mouth to protest but Shay simply shook her head, cutting him off again. “You can defend yourself, against humans. Not against the Galra. Please don't be ridiculous.”

\--

It didn't take much after that to get Keith to come back to the tower with them. Of course, they had to wait until the firemen came to make sure the fire didn't spread, but after that Allura was quick to make a portal back to the tower before he could change his mind.

The team went about taking statements from the pair after they got back, but there wasn't much they could tell them that wasn't already known. So after they wrote everything down Shay went to the kitchen with Hunk to the kitchen while Keith excused himself to the balcony. Lance stayed behind in the living room, sprawled out on the couch with Shiro resting against his side. One hand absently braided Shiro's forelock while Lance stared out the glass doors at Keith.

“I don't trust him.” He muttered, ignoring Shiro's sigh. “You don't either. No one should. We've met him twice and each time just happens to be when we're investigating tips about the Galra? What if he's one of them?”

“He's not purple.” Shiro said monotonously.

“The Galra aren't always purple though! Remember Throk? He wasn't purple when we first met him.” Lance hissed. “I wonder who he's texting… he's probably telling Zarkon about where we are.”

Shiro stood abruptly and he looked at Lance. “I'm going to go take a shower now. You need to try and get to know this guy, he's our guest. And I doubt he's Galra. Just be nice.” He said before he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. Lance scowled as he watched him leave, his eyes flitting over to Keith occasionally. 

“‘Oh, just be nice!’” He said, his voice cracking a bit as he went into a mocking falsetto. “I'll tell you where you can shove your stupid ‘niceness’.” He muttered and he stood, staring out the glass doors at Keith, who had put his phone away and was staring out over the balcony now. Lance wasn't a rude person, in fact, he prided himself in being able to tease people without actually hurting their feelings. So why was he being rude to Keith? He had barely even given the other a chance. And Shiro had asked so nicely. The only other tone he had asked like that was when he wanted Lance to go out and eat something other than takeout with him. 

So Lance did what he normally did when Shiro asked like this. He took a moment to act like he was thinking about it before he went out on the balcony. He knocked on the doors briefly, moving up next to Keith. The reporter didn't blink when he knocked or when he stopped next to him and Lance briefly wondered if he was just ignoring him. But that would be ridiculous. Right? 

Before he could answer his own question Keith finally raised his head and took a deep breath, turning to face Lance. “You know, I heard you talking about me,” Lance bristled at that, “and I would just like to say that no, I am not a Galra. And I really hope that you don't treat every person you meet like this.” Lance frowned and he walked off to the side of the balcony so he was somewhat further away from Keith. He definitely didn’t trust him now.

“Sorry. But doing what we do, coincidences aren’t always coincidences. We don’t trust people we don’t know.” Lance said. If he had been looking at Keith he would have seen the conflicted look that passed over his face. 

“Well, Shay got your trust, didn’t she?” Lance nodded. “How did she do that?”

Lance chuckled at that. “She and Hunk became great friends, and then they started dating. So your best bet is to get a friend on this team.” He said with another laugh, missing Keith’s somewhat pensive look.


End file.
